ConexTrain, a software firm that has launched an online, collaborative training platform for endurance athletes, will be sponsoring a women’s cycling team for the 2006 season. Team ConexTrain will operate out of the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas and will include five top female riders competing in regional and national races.
"This is a coming together of a number of different things for our company and the cycling community," said Tim Pletcher, cyclist and founder of ConexTrain. "We are putting forth our best effort to support women's racing and we believe our product provides a competitive advantage to anyone using it".
One of the top sprinters in the US, Jen McRae, will lead Team ConexTrain. McRae is a former winner of several NRC criteriums including Athens Twilight, Altoona, and the Tour of Texas and Hotter ‘N Hell stage races. Most recently, she was third in the 2005 National Criterium Championships. McRae will be joined by Lisa Ferris, past winner of the historic Carolina Cup road race, Allyson Brandt, Juli Fiocca, and Melissa Brown, who all have a string of victories and top finishes in regional races.
"We are all very excited about our prospects for the coming season," said McRae. "With ConexTrain, we have an opportunity to take the level of women's racing in Texas up a notch, making it more competitive and dynamic. Once you improve the level of racing regionally, you can be more competitive on a national level and that's where it really gets fun".
The team kicks off its 2006 season with a training camp in December. All five of the team’s cyclists are preparing for the coming season by using the ConexTrain platform to track their conditioning through heart rate monitoring, power output, nutrition, calories burned, and other dynamics affecting performance. ConexTrain analyses all training data and provides information essential to reaching your potential as an athlete.
ConexTrain’s support of its women’s team has been joined by additional sponsors, which include Mapei, Team Diabetic, Quattro Assi Bikes, Chann McRae Cycling, and Southwest Cycle Sports. Team ConexTrain’s first race is will be in February 2006 as Texas kicks off its racing season.
